My Whole New World ~ The Little HS Author Starts College

Sorry for the long time no see! My life has been a little crazy as I’ve made a rather epic transition. I am no longer little Fort Millian high schooler. It’s to Columbia with me, to the Honors College at the University of South Carolina.

Sweet freedom. Sweet change. Sweet refuge from dramaaa…

For the last three weeks or so, my focus has been all on the changes and not on my writing. Regrettable. But necessary. Now I am ready to buckle down and GO.

I spent a nice hour in the bookstore today doing my Cinderella Mouse thing – gather stacks of books so high I have to use my chin to keep them from falling. Then I sit down with them and scan through the pitches and acknowledgements pages, taking notes on the books that sound interesting and literary agents I need to check out. (I’ll type my notes up below.)

I LOVE doing this.

I also realized something pretty epic when I was in the bookstore today. There used to be about nine shelves filled with teen fiction. Within the last three or four months, that number has grown to eleven.

If I miss this wave, I will not know what to do with myself. Thanks to Miss Stephanie Meyer and Mr. Edward Cullen, my genre is skyrocketing, maybe just in time, maybe in time….

Meh Notes:

Title – Author ~ Agent
Waiting for You – Susane Colasanti ~ ? *(I found this one interesting because the acknowledgements made references to depression and anxiety, topics of personal interest to me.)
Bait – Alex Sanchez ~ Miriam Altshulter
Snap – Carol Snow ~ Stephanie Kip Rostan
My Soul to Take – Rachel Vincent ~ Miriam Kriss (Interesting for its language. I read the first page.)
Shiver – Maggie Steifvater ~ Laura Rennert
Breathless – Jessica Warman ~ Andrea Somberg (Gorgeous cover on this one, but the only word in the pitch that caught my interest was “semiautobiographical”)
Graceling – Kristin Cashore ~ Faye Bender
Kissed by an Angel – Elizabeth Chandler / Mary Claire Helldorfer (This is one I should read because it resonates so well with my life and the stories I tell, but I haven’t been able to find this lady’s agent if she has one.)
Twenty Boy Summer – Sarah Ockler ~ Ted Malawer (I think this title was a bad idea.)
Reincarnation – Susanne Weyn (This has the potential to be FASCINATING.)
Radiant Darkness – Emily Whitman ~ Nancy Gallt
The Fetch – Laura Whitcomb (I’ve heard this ones really good.)
A Kiss in Time – Alex Flinn ~ George Nicholson
As You Wish – Jackson Pearce ~ Jenoyne Adams

I left the store with:

Crank by Ellen Hopkins (I need to read her books. I just need to.)
Odd Hours by Dean Koontz (So I don’t have to borrow it from Megan again)
Prom Nights from Hell by Meg Cabot, Kim Harrison, Michele Jaffe, Stephanie Meyer, and Lauren Myracle (Needed this too.)
Pride & Prejudice  by Jane Austen (An extra copy because I shall be reading it for SCHOOL ^.^)

More later! ❤

Books books books books books!

I’ve been trying to write my thoughts on a couple of novels down for a while now, but I’ve realized I don’t want to make complete posts of them. I’d rather combine them in something of a monster post.

The first book on the list is Watchers. I’ve been  a huge fan of Dean Koontz since my best friend Meggie Monster picked up Odd Thomas and forced me to listen to her read it aloud. Oddie is one of the few boys over whose hotness Meggie and I have never argued. It’s a very good thing he does not exist.

I also picked up Watchers because she recommended it. I love the way the title plays into the book. I loved Travis and Nora. Okay, Nora’s story absolutely gripped me.

And of course, I loved the dog.

I was surprised when I realized that the book was written two years before I was born. The entire first half of the novel aged beautifully. The second half, not so much. The 100 pages (Okay, maybe that’s an exaggeration) that Koontz spent building up the suspense that surround a traceable phone call was tiring. I started skipping things. That’s really the only thing I feel I can criticize.

Another book I read on vacation this summer was Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden.

In a nutshell, I completely fell in love with the writing during the first 1/5-1/3 of the book. The rest didn’t impress me as much. What happened, Mr. Golden? Where did the clever descriptions and simmering passion go?

Thankfully, it did come back in snapshots that mainly surrounded Sayuri’s visits to the artist (If I had the book with me I’d look up the name), the horrifying description of her encounter with the Minister, and her final revelations with the Chairman. I find this book’s ending absolutely delightful…if a little plot-holey.

I think I can make a full post out of my review of In Odd We Trust. Like I said, I ♥ Oddie.

Book 2 Word Count:  11, 000

Partial Requests:  3